Warp control in axminster looms



Dec. 24, 1940. c. E. BROWN 1 WARP CONTROL IN AXMINSTER LOOMS v Filed July 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l l IN TOR J CLYD .BRowN O 2a- 2 ATTORNEY D56. 24, 1940. c 5 BROWN v WARP CONTROL IN AXMINSTER LOOMS Filed July 15, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 R umumm' IN TOR cLYO .BRowN ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES WARP CONTROL IN AXMINSTER LOOMS Clyde E. Brown, Grafton, Mass, assignor to v Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass, a corporation of Massachusetts Application July 15, 1940, Serial No. 345,539

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in Axminster looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide mechanism which will facilitate movement of the tuft yarns over hooks on the cloth board.

Certain types of Axminster looms employ a cloth board formed with upright hooks over which the picks of filling and the tuft yarns are beaten.

When the height of the pile tufts is comparatively low a short hook can be employed, but when it is desired to use a fabric having a higher tuft it is desirable to use longer hooks. The same loom may, however, be called upon to weave fabrics having high pile at one time and low pile at another and in order to accommodate this condition the longer hooks are used as a permanent part of the loom structure. Thereed moves the weft and tufts to a position in front of the hooks and must lift the weft to a relatively high point above the cloth board. This lifting is resisted by the downward pull of the lower warp shed. It is accordingly an important object of my present invention to provide mechanism which will lift the warp shed at the time of beat-up to assist the reed to lift the tufts over the hooks.

The binder warp threads extend rearwardly from the hooks through the reed on the lay to .the vertically reciprocating harness frames. It is another object of myinvention to provide a lifter bar on the lay to be raised periodically as the reed approaches its front position to lift the bottom warp shed to lessen the downward pull on the fell of the cloth, thereby assisting the reed to beat the shots of weft over the hooks. I prefer to mount the rod for movement relatively to the lay and have it actuated by the lay as the latter moves forwardly.

In wide Axminster looms the aforesaid bar would have a tendency to sag unless supported at intermediate points between its ends. It is a further object of my invention to provide lifters for the ends of the bar and additional intermediate lifters, together with coordinated actuating mechanisms to require the ends and central lifters to raise all parts of the bar the same distance.

With these and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a convenient embodiment of my invention is set forth,

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a portion of an (01. ice-a) Axminster loom made according to my present invention,

Fig. 2 is a vertical section slightly reduced on line 2-2 of Fig; 1 looking forwardly toward the rear of the lay and showing the warp lifting bar 5 a series of upright hooks I2 from whichextend in a downwardly and rearwardly direction tuft guiding surfaces l3. The lay L is mounted for rocking movement on a' shaft I5 which is oscillated' by well-known mechanism not shown. The shaft is mounted in several bearings one of which is shown at [6 in Fig. 1 and carries a reed R between the dents of which extend the binder, warp threads which -'form the upper and lower warp sheds WT and W respectively. The warp threads extend forwardly between the hooks I2 to be connected to the fabric at the fell in front of the hooks and are controlled as to their vertical positions by harness frames H. Formed as a usual part of the loom frame is a beam I! which extends acro'ssthe loom and is fastened to the frame It;

My invention is used more particularly though not necessarily in connection with looms adapted for the weaving" of fabrics havingthe pattern showing on their back; To assist in the guiding of th'efpil'e forming yarns up the surfaces l3,

there is provided a series of plates 20 mounted on the lever 2! which rocks about a shaft 22. A rod 23 pivoted at 24 to the lever 2| is caused to rise and fall by mechanism not shown herein to move the plates 20 about the shaft 22. The plates move through the spaces 25 between the hooks l2 and register with the dents of the reed R to define guide aisles for the tuft yarns, as described for instance in prior Patent No. 1,958,129. I

The loom operates with a series of tube frames one of which is indicated at T having a spool S wound with the variously colored tuft yarns Y which extend through the tubes 30 and project downwardly from the latter as indicated in Fig. 1. The tube frame is mounted on an operating arm 3| of well-known construction. Front and back cutting blades 32 and- 33', respectively may be of the usual form and are separated as indicated in Fig. 1 to permit movement of the tube frame '1 to tuft forming position.

As is usual in Amninster looms the weft is laid by a needle N which is moved into and out of the shed formed by the warp threads W and W while the reed is in rear position. The needle lays a double pick which is interlaced with the weft of a selvage shuttle not shown on that side of the loom opposite the side from which the needle enters the shed.

In operation, the lay moves back and forth and the needle enters the shed when the reed is in the position shown in Fig. 1. The needle is then moved out of the shed and the reed moves forwardly to force the filling indicated at F up the inclined surfaces [3 and over the hooks l2, as shown in Fig. 3. If the fabric being woven is so-called three-shot Axminster the tube frame will be manipulated once for every three insertions of the weft needle and will dip the color yarns through the warp shed while the lay is in rear position. The tube frame is then rocked forwardly and a shot of filling laid behind the depending tuft yarns, after which the reed moves forwardly with the guide plates. As the reed continues to move forwardly the yarns Y move through the guide aisles formed by plates 20 and up the inclined surfaces l3 and over the hooks together with the weft which was laid behind the tuft yarns. The tube frame is then raised sufficiently to draw off enough yarn for the next row of tufts and the cutting blades sever the tuft yarns from the spool S.

The matter thus far described is well-known and of itself forms no part of my present invention. The hooks I2 are relatively high so that they can cooperate properly with high pile tufts. Reference may be had to the previously mentioned patent for a further description of the construction and operation of the parts already described.

The length or height of the hooks l2 renders desirable some means for assisting the reed to push the weft and tuft'yarns over the hooks. The bottom of the clothnormally rests on sur-' face A of the cloth board and must be raised substantiallythe height of the hooks when the weft moves over them. My invention relates to mechanism for accomplishing this result. As seen particularly'in Fig. 2 I provide a bar 40 which extends above the lay but under the bottom warp shed W. This bar is mounted on a plurality of arms 4! pivoted. as at 42 to rearward extensions 43 of the lay L. Certain of these arms, particularly those at the ends of the bar, lie outside the selvages of the fabric being woven and are provided with rolls 45 positioned for engagement with fixed earns 46. There will'be one cam 46 at each end of the loom and each will be formed with an upwardly and forwardly inclined cam face 41 formed substantially as shown in Fig. 1 and placed for engagement with the roll 45 corresponding thereto.

Each cam 46 is mounted on a bracket 50 having a foot 5| bolted to the beam l1. Slots 52 in the cam 46 receive bolts 53 which extend into the bracket 50 to hold the cam rigidly but in adjusted position with respect to the bracket 50. An additional support for the bracket may be provided as indicated in Fig. 1 in the form of a foot 55 held to the support by bolts 56 which extend through a slot 51 in the foot. The bottom of the foot is formed with a shoe 58 which rests on the shaft l5 for support. By means of the adjustments described the bracket 50 can be held in fixed position capable of supporting considerable downward'pressure, and the cam 46 can be given a limited vertical adjustment.

In the operation of that part of my invention already described forward motion of the lay will cause the rolls 45 to move up the cam faces 47, from the position of Fig. 1 to that of Fig. 3, thereby lifting the ends of the bar 40 to elevate the bottom warp shed W This raising of the warp shed occurs as the reed approaches its front position and there is therefore a relative elevation of the warp shed with respect to the hooks 12, a condition which reduces the downward pull of the bottom shed on the fell and assists the reed to push the weft and the tuft yarns over the hooks.

In wide looms it is desirable to provide additional lifting mechanism for the bar 45 intermediate the selvages of the fabric. To accomplish this result I provide a series of rolls 6% each mounted on an arm 6| pivoted at 62 to a support 63 secured toan intermediate lay arm 54 which is secured to shaft I5 and oscillates with the reed.

For each roll there is provided a fixed cam 65 which derives its support from auxiliary brackets 66. Each bracket 66 is fixed to a bearing 68 for the lay shaft 15 mounted on a transverse girt 69. The cams 65 are provided with upwardly and forwardly inclined surfaces 61 corresponding to the surfaces 4! but somewhat steeper than the latter due to the fact that the rolls 60 and cams 65 which cooperate with them are nearer the axis of shaft I5 than are the rolls 45 and their cams 41. Extending upwardly from each arm 6| is a rod Ill having a cup bearing H in which the bar 40 rests and can rotate, see Fig. 5. The'rods or links .10 are distributed along the length of the bar 40 and enough of them will be employed to prevent substantial bending of the bar 40 during the warp lifting operation.

At the same time that the rolls 45 are moving up their cams 41. as already described, the rolls 60 will move up the cams 65 to the position shown in Fig. 3, thereby exerting an upward thrust on the rods 10 to raise the intermediate parts of the bar 40 between the rolls 45. The rolls 45 and 60 will engage their cams at substantially the same time during the forward motion of the'la'y and the cams will be so designed that the rolls 45 and 60 will riseat substantially the same rate, hence the bar 40 will be lifted bya series of uniform and coordinated forces imparted to it throughout its length and acting to maintain the bar substantially straight and prevent downward bending. thereof.

As the lay approaches front center the rolls are high on their cams with the result that the bar 40 is raised from a relatively low position shown in Fig. 1 to the comparatively high position in Fig. 3 to elevate the bottom shed W The effect of raising bar 40 is to reduce thedownward pull on the fell of the cloth by the warp forming the lower shed W thereby reducing the amount of 65 force required to push the shots of weft and the tuft yarns over the hooks l2. It will be understood that the cams are so placed that ba'r40 does not start to rise until after the needle' N is out of the shed. As the lay recedes the pressure of the bottom shed downwardly on bar 40 causes therolls to be restored to their low positions when the lay is in-the back center position shown in Fig. l, and when in this low position bar 40' exerts no upward force on thebinders see V Figs. 4- and '5, and the shed is wide open for reditional to-the reed to assist the latter to push the weft and tufts over'the hooks. The effect of the invention is topermit the reed to raise the weft by-the expenditure of less force than would be required if the reed alone were required to raise the weft over the hooks unassisted and in the usual manner. I

From the foregoing it' will be seen that I have provided a simple means for lessening thedown- I ward force exerted on the weft and tuft yarns whichare being beaten over the hooks 12, thereby permitting the use of a cloth board having relatively high hooks. As shown herein this result is accomplished by means of the bar 40 which is raised during forward beating of the lay to' move the warp shed W upwardly. It will also be seen that the rolls are mounted on the 1 lay and that the actuating force for raising the bar -40 is derived from the lay as the same advances. It will further be seen that the cams 46- and- 61 are so constructed as to compensate for the differences in their distances from the sha-ft' [5, the lower cams 61 being somewhat steeper than the upper earns 46 so that the lesser forward motion of the rolls Ml will effect the same upward motion of the intermediate ends of the bar as that caused by the rolls 45 when the latter rise on the earns 46. l

' Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the-spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In an Axminster loom having a notched cloth board with upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and having warp: threads extending between the hooks to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the cloth board, a reed to move the weft over said hooks to the fell of the cloth, and means under the bottom shed operative on the beat of the lay toward the cloth board toengage and raise said bottom shed and. thereby reduce the downward force which the bottom shed exerts on the fell of the cloth.

2. In an Axminster loom having a notched cloth board with upstanding hooks and having warp threads extending between the hooks to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the cloth board, a reed carried by the lay to move the weft over the hooks to the fell of the cloth, and means under the bottom warp shed acting in timed relation with the movement of the lay toward the hooks to engage and lift the bottom shed of warp threads to assist the reed to move the filling over said hooks.

3. In an Axminster loom having a notched cloth board with upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and operating with warp threads extending between the hooks tobe raised and lowered to form top and bottom sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the hooks, a reed carried by the lay tomove the weft over the hooks to the fell of the cloth, a bar extending under the lower shed and supported by and movable relatively to the lay, and

means operative during forward movement of the reed toward the hooks to cause upward movement of the bar against the lower shed of warp threads'to elevate the latter, thereby reducing the downward force. exerted by the bottom'shed of war-pthreads on the fell of the cloth and assist the reed in forcing the weft over the hooks.

4 In an Axminster loom having a notched cloth board with upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and having warp threads extending between the. hooks to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom sheds for the in-- sertion ofweft, a lay movable toward and from the clothboard, a reed carried by the lay to move the weft over the hooks and to the fell of thecloth, a bar extendingunder the bottom shed of warpthreads, means pivoted to the lay and supporting the bar, and fixed means effective during movement of the lay toward the cloth board to elevate the bar and lift the lower shed of warp threads to lessen the downward force exerted by the lower shed of warp threads on the fell of the cloth.-

5, In an Axminster loom having a notched cloth board with upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and operating with warp threads extending between the hooks to be raised and lowered to form topand bottom sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the cloth board, a reed carried by the lay to move theweft to the fell of the cloth over the hooks, a bar extending under the lower shed of warp threads, means to support the bar for vertical motion relatively to the lay, fixed cam means,

and means to connect the cam means and the bar to cause upward movement of the latter due to forward movement of the lay when the latter'approaches the cloth board to reduce the downward force exerted by the lower shed of warp threads on the fell of the cloth.

6. In an Axminster loom having a notched cloth board with upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and operating with warp threads extending between hooks to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the cloth board, a reed carried by the lay to move the weft over the hooks to the fell of the cloth, a bar extending under the lower shed of warp threads, supporting arms for the ends of the bar pivoted to the lay and movable vertically relatively to said lay, a cam fixed adjacent each side of the loom toengage the supporting arms, intermediate cams fixed with respect to the loom frame and distributed across the loom, and pivoted intermediate arms to be moved by the intermediate cams, links extending from said pivoted arms to intermediate points along the bar between the ends thereof, forward movement of the lay causing said supporting and pivoted arms to be raised by their respective cams thereto to elevate the bar and raise the lower shed of warp threads to reduce the downward force exerted by said lower shed on the fell of the cloth.

7. The structure set forth in claim 6 together with means to pivot said intermediate arms to the lay.

8. The structure substantially as set, forth in claim 6 wherein said cams for the intermediate arms are nearer the axis of the lay than the cams for the supporting arms and wherein said cams act through their respective arms to effect substantially the same amount of upward motion of the ends of the bar and the intermediate points thereof during the latter part of the angular motion of the lay toward the cloth board.

9. In an Axminster loom having a cloth board with spaced upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and having Warp threads extending between the hooks and rearwardly to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom warp sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the cloth board, a reed on the lay having dents to pass between the hooks on the forward beat of the lay to a position in front of the hooks to beat the Weft over the hooks and into the fell of the cloth, and means additional to the reed under the bottom warp shed to engage the latter and effect upward movement of the bottom warp shed relatively to the hooks to assist the reed to move the weft over the hooks.

10. In an Axminster loom having a cloth board with spaced upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and having warp threads extending between the hooks and rearwardly to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom warp sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the cloth board, a reed on the lay having dents to pass between the hooks on the forward beat of the lay to a position in front of the hooks to beat the weft over the hooks and into the fell of the cloth, a bar extending under the bottom warp shed, a supporting rod for the bar depending therefrom, and means to raise the rod during forward motion of the lay to elevate the bar while in contact with the bottom shed to lift the latter and thereby reduce the downward pull of said bottom shed on the fell of the cloth and assist the reed to move the weft.

11. In an Axminster loom having a cloth board with spaced upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and having warp threads extending between the hooks and rearwardly to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom warp sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and. from the cloth board, a reed on the lay having dents to pass between the hooks on the forward beat of the lay to a position in front of the hooks to beat the weft over the hooks and into the fell of the cloth, a bar extending under the bottom warp shed, a supporting rod for the bar depending therefrom, and means to raise the rod during forward motion of the lay to elevate the bar while in contact with the bottom shed to lift the latter and thereby reduce the downward pull of said bottom shed on the fell of the cloth and assist the reed to move the weft over the hooks, said means including an arm member and a cam member to cooperate therewith during forward motion of the lay to raise the rod, one of said members being mounted on and moving with the lay.

12. In an Axminster loom having a. cloth board with spaced upstanding hooks behind the fell of the cloth and having" warp threads extending between the hooks and rearwardly to be raised and lowered to form top and bottom warp sheds for the insertion of weft, a lay movable toward and from the cloth board, a reed on the lay having dents to pass between the hooks on the forward beat of the lay to a position in front of the hooks to beat the weft over the hooks and into the fell of the cloth, and means in addition to the reed to effect movement of the fell of the cloth upwardly relatively to the hooks to assist the reed to move the weft over the hooks, said means including an arm member and a cam member to cooperate therewith during forward motion of the lay, one of said members being mounted on and moving with the lay.

CLYDE E. BROWN. 

